Mosquito spray in short supply

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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While mosquitoes certainly are not in short supply in Plainview, the stuff that makes them go away is.

Despite an aerial spraying a couple weeks ago and nightly ground spraying by the City, mosquitoes remain a pest in many parts of Plainview and outlying areas. As a result, almost every local store has sold out of mosquito repellent, with varying answers as to if and when they'll be getting any more on their shelves.

"We're totally out," said Tori Salazar at Tractor Supply Company, estimating they have 20 people a day come in looking for it.

Salazar said Tractor Supply has been out for the past couple of weeks, about the same time that Wal-Mart Supercenter sold out of its supply.

An associate in Wal-Mart's garden department said she wasn't sure if they would be getting any more in, nor was Salazar at Tractor Supply. She said

Maybe the only stores in town with any mosquito spray are both United supermarkets.

United Amigos has "plenty" on its shelves at 24th and Columbia, while the United on Olton Road also has spray in stock.

One United employee said she thought they were the only ones in town with mosquito spray.

"Not even the dollar stores have any, from what I understand," she said.

She's right.

An employee at Dollar Tree said they don't stock it, while both Dollar General stores are out.

"Every time we get some in it goes the same day," said Delma Longoria, an assistant manager at Dollar General. "We're waiting to see what they ship us.

Time will tell."

It's even gotten to the point where some people are hoarding the stuff.

"One gentleman - I think he was a farmer - bought 8 or 9 cans," said Angelica Flores, a cashier at Gebo's.

But they're out now, too.

"We got some on our truck last week and were out by Thursday or Friday," Flores said, adding that Gebo's should be getting some from their in-town warehouse . . . "if the warehouse has some."

United on Olton Road had stopped ordering mosquito spray, thinking it was out of season. But the late rush of bugs and high demand of repellent prompted them to begin requesting it again.

"We stopped getting it in but we started ordering it again," one employee said.

CVS Pharmacy has been out of spray for about a month, manager Byron Hutto said, and can't order any more because it's a "seasonal item" and not available to them.

"From retailer's standpoint we're always six weeks ahead of the season, and right now we're stocking early Christmas items," Hutto explained.

"Normally this time of year we're well past mosquito season. Usually we sell (repellent) pretty good through the (summer youth) baseball season, and then it drops off."

But not this year.

Even after the city's spray trucks pass through neighborhoods, often mosquitoes are back in full force by the next morning.

Hutto said he's aware of numerous alternatives to mosquito repellent, including applying Listerine to the skin as well as a product called Avon's Skin-So-Soft.

Hutto, though, wouldn't vouch for the effectiveness of either. One Website noted the Avon product works, but only for about 10 minutes.

Another method some claim will ward off mosquitoes is keeping a dryer sheet in your pocket.

The best way, however, to keep mosquitoes at bay is avoid being outside around sunrise and sunset, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, and get rid of any standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs.